Join us Monday, September 25, 2017: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room

The American Friends Service Committee staff leads a panel discussion on restorative justice and mass incarceration which will include a videoed vignette of successful outcomes of advocacy & prison reform.

AFSC's Michigan Criminal Justice Program advocates for over 1,500 Michigan prisoners and their families each year, building an advocacy network throughout the state. The program encourages dialogue among prisoners and the general public, and works for humane reform of the criminal justice system, and for the rights of prisoners.

The public is invited to Dawn Farm’s free Educational Series. All programs are presented in the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Education Center auditorium, at 5305 Elliott Drive in Ypsilanti. You can also contact Dawn Farm at 734-485-8725 or info@dawnfarm.org. All are welcome to attend! Registration is not required. All programs are from 7:30 -9:00 PM.

On September 19, the topic, Addiction & Families, will be presented by Lynn Kleiman Malinoff, Ed.D. Substance addiction affects the entire family. Learn how each family member is affected and ways family members can cope with addiction.

On September 26, James Balmer, President of Dawn Farm, will present "Addiction 101: A primer on the dynamics of alcohol and other drug use, addiction as a brain disease and the process of recovery".

The American Red Cross of Washtenaw County has invited the community for a Family Preparedness Expo, where attendees can learn from local emergency management response agencies & non-profits about what to do before, during an after disaster strikes.

There will be fire extinguisher training, Hands-Only CPR, a disaster preparedness workshop and more.

Admission is free and open to the public: Saturday, September 2nd from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. At the American Red Cross 4624 Packard Rd. Ann Arbor, 48108

The two finalist titles for the 2018 edition of Washtenaw Reads have been selected!

The Screening Committee met through the summer to read and discuss some of the top fiction and non-fiction titles of the last few years and to narrow down to two titles for the final selection committee to read. Without further ado, the nominees are:

Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi (Alfred A. Knopf, 2016)

Homegoing follows the parallel paths of two half sisters from different tribal villages in Ghana and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.

Thank You for Your Service, by David FInkel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013)

In Thank You for Your Service, Finkel follows a group of soldiers as they return home from the front lines in Baghdad and struggle to reintegrate—both into their family lives and into American society at large. He is with them in their most intimate, painful, and hopeful moments as they try to recover, and in doing so, he creates an indelible, essential portrait of what life after war is like—not just for these soldiers, but for their wives, widows, children, and friends, and for the professionals who are truly trying, and to a great degree failing, to undo the damage that has been done.

Both books are available at the library. You can leave your feedback about the two finalist titles on the Washtenaw Reads Finalist Page, and keep checking the WR site for the announcement of the selected read later this fall!

The Washtenaw Reads program is a community initiative to promote reading and civic dialogue through the shared experience of reading and discussing a common book. Participating libraries include Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Milan, Northfield Township, Saline, and Ypsilanti.

AADL and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide) are partnering this summer to provide Free Ride Saturdays during the AADL Summer Game!

Every Saturday from June 17 - August 26, library cardholders can ride any of TheRide local fixed-route buses for free. All you need to do is show the driver your library card when boarding the bus!

While riding, look for the AADL Summer Game code sign inside the bus and win 1,000 points to trade in for awesome Summer Game Shop prizes. Each bus has the same code inside the bus, so it's easy to find! When you see it, text the code to 4AADL (42235) or visit play.aadl.org to enter the code and get 1,000 points.

TheRide and AADL have created fun ways to get even more Summer Game prizes:
• Find the code featured on the outside of several buses for 500 points.
• Find the code hidden on TheRide.org on the MyAlerts Service page (which you can get to by clicking on "All Alerts" directly from the homepage) for 500 points.

Find all the codes to earn the Ride Master Badge and a 500 point bonus!

The AADL Summer Game is a great way to enjoy your summer and to ride TheRide for free! For more information on TheRide's routes and schedules, pick up a Ride Guide or visit TheRide.org.